2018 Standing Forms were mailed out from the Regional Office on October 30, 2017. You may also download the 2018 Standing Form.
2018 Standing Forms will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. December 1, 2017. They will be reviewed by the Commission on Clergy at their December 11, 2017 meeting. Forms received after December 1 will be reviewed at the Commission’s meeting on January 22, 2018.
For further instructions please click HERE.
We are pleased to announce the speaker for 2018 Leadership Training School/Regional Assembly. Rev. Virzola Law will join us for the Clergy Dinner on Friday, April 27 evening as well as preach on Saturday, April 28 at the LTS/Regional Assembly worship service.
Rev. Virzola Jo-Nan Law is the proud mother of Jasmin Williams who has given her the most precious gift of a granddaughter, Ava Jo-Nan Law Williams. Rev. Law is a fourth generation member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) where she was baptized in her home church, University Christian Church in Houston, TX. Her parents, Elder Thomas and Virginia Law, have been her biggest supporters and cheerleaders since she accepted her call to ministry at the age of 15.
Rev. Law currently serves as Senior Pastor of the historic Lindenwood Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the first elected female and African American to serve in this capacity at Lindenwood. Prior to being called to Lindenwood, Rev. Law served in various pastoral positions at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in a span of twelve years.
Before moving to Memphis she was Senior Pastor at Woodland Christian Church in Houston, Texas. Prior to full time ministry she received a Masters of Divinity Degree from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas. She also worked on her masters degree while attending Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. During her seminary years Rev. Law served as Associate Pastor at First Christian Church in Carrollton, Texas.
She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She enjoys a good book, traveling, lakes, oceans, and spending time with her friends and families.
APPNA and Oklahoma Conference of Churches are holding a Free Heart Disease Wellness Fair at the Oklahoma Disciples Center located at 301 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City on October 28, 2017 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
For more information about this event see the attached flyer HERE.
The Southwest Area Disciples Women met on October 14, 2017 at Lawton First Christian Church for their area meeting.
The Disciples Women enjoyed two speakers, Rev. Sharen Hale from Healdton First Christian Church. Sharen discussed “Step Out of Your Comfort Zone”. Rev. Loma Sullivan, ODW President discussed “What is Caminante?”, Red Cord-Human Trafficking, and New Directions-Domestic Abuse.
Associate Regional Minister Rev. Leslie Dotson provided the communion service.
FCC Edmond will host Church Sound Boot Camp on November 3-4, 2017. The class will begin at 5pm on Friday, November 3 and go until 10pm. On Saturday, November 4 class will begin at 9am and go until 5pm.
Join Curt Taipale as he shares with you the secrets he has learned about delivering consistent sound quality and technical excellence in churches! Curt has over 30 years of experience in audio as a church tech team leader, recording and live sound engineer, consultant, AVL system designer, design/build contractor, educator, author, and professional musician. He is the founder of ChurchSoundcheck.com, author of “The Heart of Technical Excellence“, and a contributing author to Yamaha’s “Guide to Sound Systems for Worship“.
Curt has taught thousands of church sound team volunteers, technical staff, worship pastors and musicians. He brings a unique perspective and depth of knowledge to every workshop.
You will return home understanding not only how to improve your church’s sound, but why you are taking each step.
Your tech life will never be the same once you know how to properly use:
For further details contact FCC Edmond at http://www.fccedmond.org/contact-us or call 405.341.3544
A Memorial Service for Dr. Dennis Smith will be held at The Phillips Theological Seminary on Friday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. to remember the departed colleague, professor, and friend Dennis E. Smith, Professor of New Testament Emeritus.
The service will be in the Meinders Chapel of the Cadieux Building, 901 N. Mingo Rd., Tulsa, Okla.
All who wish to remember and honor Dennis are welcome to attend. The service will also be available via Facebook live on the seminary’s page: Phillips Seminary on Facebook.
Smith died Sept. 16, 2017, in Galveston, Texas, of complications from cancer. He joined Phillips in 1986, retiring as the LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament Emeritus in 2015. Smith was the last faculty member who also taught in the Graduate Seminary of Phillips University. He was also the longest-serving faculty member of the seminary.
A reception in the seminary’s H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Commons will immediately follow the memorial service.
Several ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada are collaborating to come alongside our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico who have endured the ravages of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Given our close relationship with the Iglesia Cristiana (Discípulos de Cristo) in Puerto Rico, Week of Compassion has been coordinating with various partners to provide relief. We are still waiting for assessments to take place, a process made particularly difficult because communication and power are down and will not be back up for months.
Within the last several weeks, Week of Compassion have provided over $100,000 for emergency needs just to the Caribbean, and over $300,000 to communities impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. And we are just getting started. This is great news. Thank you for your generosity, which makes this possible.
In the midst of extreme need, Rev. Miguel Morales, the General Minister of the Discípulos de Cristo in Puerto Rico explains, “The situation is getting harder every day. We are low on water. We have to wait in long lines to get gas. Our resources are running out.”
The hurricanes that affected Puerto Rico will call for the church to respond for the long term. In Puerto Rico, the entire island is affected – that’s 3.5 million people! Fatalities are many, and growing. Loved ones are missing, and families cannot connect with them because cell phone signals are unavailable in most places on the island. Gasoline is already being rationed, limiting long-distance travel.
And this is just the start of the needed response. The situation is dire and is a humanitarian crisis. We are responding, and will continue to help in the months ahead.
We are deeply thankful for the support received so far. However, based on initial assessments, much more will be required as we continue to comprehend the extent of the overall damage. Currently, we have only received about a half of the donations needed to fully respond. When you consider a year end gift, I encourage you to give now – don’t wait until December 31 – and designate it for Hurricane Relief so we can rebuild these communities for the long term. Remember, 100% of your designated gifts will go towards rebuilding and reestablishing many of these communities.
For a church, “acts of God” is not only a pseudonym for natural disaster. Acting in faith, we believe that acts of compassion and solidarity are also “acts of God.” God is calling us to act… now! God is calling us to act in Christ’s name, now! Your compassionate support is needed to ensure that hope will overcome despair and the human community thrives.
Will you join me and stand compassionately with these communities by giving a designated gift to Week of Compassion?
Vy Nguyen, Exec. Director
DATE CHANGE: This meeting has moved to December 7, 2017.
You are invited to the second gathering of retired ministers on November 9, 2017 in Tulsa. We will meet at Phillips Theological Seminary located at 901 N. Mingo Rd, Tulsa, OK 74116 to talk further about the Regional Communications Network of Retired Ministers.
We have lined up a great schedule of events, including a lecture and conversation with Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison (Johnnie Eargle Cadieux Professor of Hebrew Bible, and Director of Ministerial Formation for Disciples of Christ). Our special guest at lunch is Rev. Dr. Nancy Pittman, the Dean at PTS. Nancy will join us during lunch with four of her Capstone Course students for an engaging conversation.
Schedule of Events:
RSVP to Richard Ziglar (event coordinator) at 918-638-7649 or email rziglar@cox.net
Please let Richard know about any food or dietary restrictions.
In honor of Reconciliation and World Communion Sunday. Shepherd Street Christian Church and First Christian Church Chickasha are worshiping together for two Sundays in October.
On Sunday, October 1, 2017 both congregations met at Shepherd Street Christian Church for a combined worship service. Rev. Michael Oberlender provided the sermon.
On Sunday, October 8, 2017 both congregations will meet at First Christian Church Chickasha to worship together and Rev. Milton Bowens will provide the sermon.
Enjoy some pictures from the October 1st worship service at Shepherd Street Christian Church.
Design a T-Shirt. Win a 2018 Camp Scholarship
Our Oklahoma PRAR regional ministry wants to spread the word about our important work. What better way than a T-shirt!
Youth, children and even adults may enter the PRAR T-shirt design contest. Please download the flyer for the design contest rules and submission details. Deadline for entries is November 15, 2017, with the winner being announced the week of November 26th. The winner will receive a 2018 camp scholarship courtesy of Rev. Michael Davison.
We can’t wait to see your great designs!
Blessings from your Pro-Reconciliation/Anti-Racism Task Force
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA PRAR TEAM:
The Pro-Reconciliation/Anti-Racism Task Force (PRAR) is a Regional ministry of Oklahoma. We are moving towards building a PRAR team from across the Region. Our purpose can be summed up by these words: “We will encourage members of the Body of Christ to be conduits of God’s love among all of God’s children throughout the earth. We will enable justice work addressing reconciliation and defeating racism. We will promote restorative justice.”